Acute kidney injury (AKI) and acute kidney disease (AKD) are common complications in hospitalized patients and are associated with adverse outcomes. Although consensus guidelines have improved the care of patients with AKI and AKD, guidance regarding quality metrics in the care of patients after an episode of AKI or AKD is limited. For example, few patients receive follow-up laboratory testing of kidney function or post-AKI or AKD care through nephrology or other providers. Recently, the Acute Disease Quality Initiative developed a consensus statement regarding quality improvement goals for patients with AKI or AKD specifically highlighting efforts regarding quality and safety of care after hospital discharge after an episode of AKI or AKD. The goal is to use these measures to identify opportunities for improvement that will positively affect outcomes. We recommend that health care systems quantitate the proportion of patients who need and actually receive follow-up care after the index AKI or AKD hospitalization. The intensity and appropriateness of follow-up care should depend on patient characteristics, severity, duration, and course of AKI of AKD, and should evolve as evidence-based guidelines emerge. Quality indicators for discharged patients with dialysis requiring AKI or AKD should be distinct from end-stage renal disease measures. Besides, there should be specific quality indicators for those still requiring dialysis in the outpatient setting after AKI or AKD. Given the limited preexisting data guiding the care of patients after an episode of AKI or AKD, there is ample opportunity to establish quality measures and potentially improve patient care and outcomes. This review will provide specific evidence-based and expert opinion-based guidance for the care of patients with AKI or AKD after hospital discharge.

In 2012, Kidney Disease: Improving Global Outcomes (KDIGO) published a guideline on the classification and management of acute kidney injury (AKI). The guideline was derived from evidence available through February 2011. Since then, new evidence has emerged that has important implications for clinical practice in diagnosing and managing AKI. In April of 2019, KDIGO held a controversies conference entitled Acute Kidney Injury with the following goals: determine best practices and areas of uncertainty in treating AKI; review key relevant literature published since the 2012 KDIGO AKI guideline; address ongoing controversial issues; identify new topics or issues to be revisited for the next iteration of the KDIGO AKI guideline; and outline research needed to improve AKI management. Here, we present the findings of this conference and describe key areas that future guidelines may address.